u/BlueberrySelect2848

https://gofund.me/6d29cddd6

Between the 1960s to the late 1990s, Holyoke lost its once-thriving factories and mills, leading to economic stagnation and hardship, while working-class communities faced abandonment.

No one prepared or supported these communities when new political and economic forces reshaped Holyoke and the rest of the country.

RUSTED Film examines Holyoke’s decline, focusing on the working class—immigrants and their descendants—and how they coped and survived.

I am Jaime Cornejo, director and producer of RUSTED, a documentary aiming to spark discussion about Holyoke’s transformation and its impact on the working class. Using archival material, cityscapes, interviews, and scenes of Holyoke today, I want to highlight the scar left by these changes and encourage healing and solutions for the community.

I am asking for your help. I need to finish the RUSTED documentaryRUSTED Film examines Holyoke’s decline, focusing on the working class—immigrants and their descendants—and how they coped and survived. for my thesis so I can graduate in December 2026. I need your support to secure funding, complete the film, and honor Holyoke’s story. Next, I will focus on building the story, blending interviews, voice-over, images, refining the edit, and selecting music.

This project has been the work of love and dedication to storytelling; no funding has been received, nor have any grants or sponsorships been secured. Only the fruits of my job, and the amazing participation of those in the community and family on my GoFundMe campaign.

Here is the link to the donation campaign. Please help me reach the funding goal by donating or by sharing this link with your network. Your support will make a difference in completing RUSTED and telling Holyoke’s story.

Thank you all,

Jaime Cornejo Director - Producer

RUSTEFFilm.com

Hello everyone,

My name is Jaime Cornejo, and I'm the director-producer of my thesis documentary, RUSTED. I've been working on this project for the past 5 years, and I'm reaching the point where I need to enter post so I can deliver it by December 2026.

Rusted is a historical portrait of Holyoke—a city frozen in time by the brutal process of deindustrialization. Through the collective memory of its diverse immigrant working-class, the film reconstructs the 1960s and 1980s, when Holyoke’s factories went silent, and the community endured decades of economic decline, disinvestment, and stagnation that continue to this day. I'm trying to draw a direct connection between this collapse and the rise of neoliberal policies that left a path of destruction not only in Holyoke but throughout America's Rust Belt.

This is how the project unintentionally started

About five or six years ago, after finishing my B.A. in Global History at UMass Amherst, I began a historiography project for my Master’s application in Latin American history. I loved the research and reading, but writing was my biggest challenge. As someone with dyslexia, I struggled a lot with this part. English isn’t my first language—Spanish is—so I face these difficulties in both languages, which makes pursuing a career in History even harder.

At that time, I was working as a video editor, a skill I picked up at my first job in the US back in 1999. I started to ask myself why I should spend 5 to 7 years in a field that would force me to face my biggest struggle, when I could use my video editing experience to approach history in a new way. That’s when I thought about pursuing a Master’s in Film or Documentary. In February 2021, just after the pandemic, I found an opportunity at the Integrated Media Arts program at Hunter College (CUNY) in New York City.

I filled out the application forms, but I needed a portfolio. Mine was short because I didn’t have a photography project, which left a big gap. So I started looking for a good camera and began learning about different lenses and cameras.

I bought a used Canon 5D Mark III with a 50mm lens, got permission to enter an abandoned paper mill in Holyoke, and spent half a day walking through the factory taking pictures. By the end of the day, I had a huge collection of photos and found myself drawn not only to photography and cinematography, but also to Holyoke’s history. Without realizing it, the project that started my filmmaking career has now become its foundation. As I keep working on my thesis project, RUSTED, these early photos mean even more to me and help keep me connected to the story as I go through the emotional journey of making a documentary.

Now I’m sharing some of the photos I took. You might have seen a few of them in other posts on the Rusted website, but this is the first time I’m showing them in this way. I hope you enjoy them, and I’d love to hear your thoughts or comments.

Thank you!